


Who’s there?

by SuddenShrike



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Angst, Cannibalism, Child Death, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Isolation, Loneliness, Toriel Centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:07:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29936634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuddenShrike/pseuds/SuddenShrike
Summary: It takes a long time for things to get that bad.5 times someone knocked on (horrortale) Toriel’s door and one time it was banged on.
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Toriel gently shook the wet glass over her sink to get rid of the excess water covering its surface. She then placed it, upside down, onto the damp towel on her counter top. She spared it a second glance and sighed.

She had gotten fur on it. It was always frustrating when that happens. She took the glass back and re-rinsed it. There, that’s better.

Fur getting on unopertune surfaces was something she had dealt with all her life, being a furry boss monster and what-not, but lately it has been getting particularly annoying.

Ever since the last human child left things had not been going well for her.

From the moment she let that child stride into danger she had been overtaken by a dark malaise. Toriel felt selfish and cowardly. She was too weak to keep them here for their own good. Too afraid of seeing the child’s death with her own eyes to follow. Too stupid to stop making the same mistake over and over again, and her mistake has almost undoubtedly gotten her child killed.

Part of her hoped and prayed for the child’s safety but she knew that the chances of that were dismal. There was only so long a human could last in the underground before being recognized and taken to Asgore, who would kill them. There was no way her ex would let them live.

Even the prospect of her child somehow overpowering and killing Asgore left her distraught. They would forever be a killer, a fate no child should have to bear.

Her only real hope was that her friend from behind the door had taken in and hid the child himself. However, that was not what he promised… and even if he tried she knew her child would likely escape anyway. They were too determined to be caged like a bird.

As it was, it was inevitable that Toriel would learn of their fate. If they are dead, the barrier will be broken and the last of the monsters residing in the ruins will leave. All except her.

The stress of it all had her fur falling out faster than usual. This wasn’t that big a deal to her, only meant that she had to eat a little more solid food, rather than completely magic food, in order to replace the little mass she lost.

Toriel glanced at the clock. It was getting close to the time when her friend behind the door usually visits. Despite her misery it would be remiss of her to not show up.

So, as she has done many times before Toriel walked down the stairs towards the door that led to the rest of the underground. The deep purple halls were starting to pick up a layer of dust. Toriel had been slacking on the dusting in her grief.

She didn’t bring down any feather-dusters, so that was going to have to wait. She didn’t want to leave and have her friend show up when she was gone. She looked around for anything to do in the meantime. There were no puzzles to do in this section of the ruins so maintenance was out. Maybe she could-

*knock knock* 

The sound of a fist knocking at the door snapped Toriel out of her thoughts. Her friend had arrived.

“Who’s there?” Toriel responded, as always.

“Wa,” said a deep voice from the other side of the door.

“Wa who?”

“What are you so excited about!?”

Toriel couldn’t help herself and laughed. She had always been a sucker for puns and word play, and that included knock-knock jokes.

They stood like that for many minutes, trading lame puns and knock knock jokes like many times before. For those minutes the weight on Toriel’s shoulders lifted as she forgot her troubles. She knew it couldn’t last.

“Say friend, I hate to ask you this but… have you any news of the child that passed through this door”.

A brief silence followed.

“...Yeah, I heard a few things,” her friend answered back.

“Then please, can you tell me what happened to them?” Even as she asked the question Toriel started to regret it.

There were another few moments of silence before a sigh rang out.

“The kid got out. They killed Asgore, took his and the human souls, then crossed the barrier,” said her friend.

“Oh,” Toriel said simply. It was like a hole opened up in her chest. Asgore was dead. Her ex-husband, dead. As angry as she was for what he had done to those children she didn't want him dead.

“Thank you, my friend, for watching over them,” Toriel started but was interrupted.

“Don’t. Don’t thank me. That kid killed a lot of people. Did you know that? Dunno how many though, at least a dozen,” his voice went from its usual relaxed tone to ice cold.

Toriel didn’t respond. So her child really had become a killer after all. When she had blocked their path and tried to get them to fight her they seemed so sweet and pacifistic. It was hard to believe that they could go on and kill many people, if what her friend said was true. But they are only a child. Children do not tend to make the best decisions when stressed.

“... I appreciate you telling me anyways,” she said cautiously.

“No problem, old lady,” and his carefree tone was back.

After that exchange their conversation died out. They simply weren’t in the mood to exchange jokes. Besides, since Asgore is dead, there are some things Toriel must prepare for.

“Well, this is goodbye, my friend. I’m afraid that I may not see you again for a while. For you see… there is something that I must attend to and I fear I may not be able to return,”

“Is that so? Well, hope whatever you gotta do goes well,”

After that they exchanged their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Toriel waited until the sound of footsteps faded before climbing up the stairs.

It was time she started to pack her things.


	2. Chapter 2

Toriel sat on the throne, gazing listlessly at the golden flowers. It had only been two months since she had claimed the throne in Asgore’s place and it was already beginning to wear on her.

The kingdom was troubled. The recent deaths the society was wracked with was having far off consequences. None of which were easy to solve.

The first issue was that a sense of despair had cloaked the cities and towns of the underground. Many monsters had loved ones that were killed. That, along with the fact that her child had taken the other souls with them brought morale to a low. 

People were feeling hopeless. While Toriel definitely did not approve of the use of human souls to free her people, her subjects had become reliant upon the hope the possibility brought. They felt like freedom was just beyond their grasp. So when the souls were taken… it was a big blow.

The despair had caused many monsters to Fall Down. Monsters are made up of, at least partially, hope, so if a monster becomes too hopeless… the consequences can be dire. This can cause a cascading effect, as a fall in a monster triggers their loved ones to fall as well.

The second problem is who, exactly, had been killed. By some stroke of misfortune many of the dead civilians had been involved with the creation and distribution of monster food. The workers that create the food. The engineers that supplied the power to keep the process going. Thank goodness that the royal scientist was not killed, although she’s been notoriously difficult to contact as of late.

Much of Toriel’s job since she reclaimed the throne was to keep her subjects fed. A more difficult task than many appreciate. There are many citizens, little space, and few species that can be cultivated underground.

Thank goodness for the core. Without that massive project there would have been no way to create enough magical food for the growing population of monsters.

*knock knock* a hard knock to the door of the throne room knocked Toriel out of her ponderings.

“Who’s there?” Toriel called out.

“It’s Undyne,  _ your majesty _ ,” the title came out with a thick layer of anger and sarcasm that Toriel couldn’t help but sigh.

Here’s the third problem.

“You may come in.”

It was not a moment after her response that the door swung open roughly, almost bouncing back after its hinges moved as far as they could go.

Standing there was the captain of the royal guard, and she did not look happy. Undyne marched into the room, followed by a horde of monsters at her heel. Among them Toriel recognized many family members of the recently deceased, along with what must have been other members of the royal guard.

(Toriel felt a sinking sensation in her chest when she realized that she did not know most of these monsters' names like Asgore did. How could someone so disconnected to the people rule?)

The crowd of monsters spread out along the courtroom, surrounding their monarch and trampling flowers. Directly ahead of her Undyne stood, staring into her eyes, rage and determination etched across her features. Toriel refused to break her gaze.

Undyne slammed the but of her spear against the ground, then pointed the end at Toriel, and spoke.

“It’s over,  _ your majesty _ . We have decided that we cannot allow you to continue to rule. You have betrayed your people, allowing any human that comes here to do as they please. You know as well as I that we need their souls to leave this godforsaken place and you would rather  _ sit by _ and do  _ nothing  _ to reclaim what the humans have taken from us. I cannot allow everyone’s hopes to be crushed, which is why you need to leave.” The passion in Undyne’s voice was clear to everyone listening. She had no intention of backing down.

The monsters listening growled and cheered their approval of their new leader's message.

It wasn’t long before Toriel was thrown out of the castle, almost literally. Undyne had ‘escorted’ her out roughly and shoved her out the doors of the castle, throwing her to the ground in the process.

There was nothing Toriel could do. None of her protests or pleads shifted the heart of a single monster in the crowd.

Toriel stood up and sighed. Perhaps it was for the best that Toriel left the throne. It was what the people wanted, after all.

It was then Toriel’s thoughts were interrupted by a deep reverberating sound that sucked deep into and vibrated her very soul. It was like the rolling thunder of the surface combined with an incredibly loud engine.

It was coming from above.

Toriel looked up. The cave ceiling above the castle was starting to split and fracture, raining dirt and stone on top of buildings.

There was only a moment of terror for those below allowed before sheets of stone came down and crushed a wing of the building like a bug. The sound was tremendous. Toriel had heard cave-ins before but not one as bad as this.

The cacophony lasted for several seconds until all the dust and rubble started to settle. Toriel could not see the damage from where she was standing. She was just too close to the building.

She ran back and around the castle to get a view of the damage. It was bad. The area around the throne room collapsed. Toriel prayed that no monsters had been killed by the falling rocks and rubble.

Toriel strode forward towards the wreckage to look for any injured. That was when she noticed something even more horrifying.

The passageway that had led to the barrier had been completely blocked off, rendering it completely inaccessible.


	3. Chapter 3

*knock knock*

“Who’s there?”

“Dejav”

“Dejav who?”

*knock knock*

Toriel’s friend laughed softly at the joke. Honestly, Toriel was proud of that one. Not only was it one of the more clever knock-knock jokes she’d found, it also got a genuine laugh out of her friend.

As of late his laughs have become less frequent and more half-hearted, and Toriel couldn’t blame him.

At her request he had been telling her what has been going on out there. Apparently, what Toriel feared had come true. 

Monsters were growing hungry and hungrier. It’s gotten bad enough that the residents of Snowden were considering taking advantage of ‘unusual’ food sources such as the soft inner bark of the trees that surrounded the town.

That fact is what gave way to their next conversation.

“Say, Lady. You wouldn’t happen to have any extra food lying around, would ya?”

Toriel hesitated, after a few moments of quiet her friend spoke again.

“Please, things are getting really bad out here”, her friend said. “My… my brother has been going hungry a lot as of late. I don’t want him to starve. Please, help us.”

The pleading tone almost broke Toriel’s heart. Guilt flowed through her. 

“I… I’ll see what I can do,” Toriel said then turned around and walked back up the stairs into her home.

While she used to have had quite a lot of food stashed away (so she didn’t have to leave the ruins) the ruins did not provide a lot of food at the best of times. Other parts of the underground received supplies from the factories and such but the only entry/exit to the ruins were perpetually closed and locked. Thus, the few residents of the ruins were forced to become self-sufficient in order to survive.

Toriel grabbed a spare bag then began packing it with food. Mostly culinary staples, pasta, vegetables and the like.

Once again she made her way downstairs but hesitated at the door. For many years she had stayed in the ruins, vowing to never let that door open. Not for herself nor the humans that fell down here. Now she was to break that vow.

Toriel opened the door a smidge then gently placed the parcel outside, just in front of the doorframe. Cold wind buffeted her face as the chill of Snowdin was no longer kept at bay. It felt like opening a freezer, but more intense. Toriel caught glimpses of unhealthy fir trees on the other side.

The door was not open for long. As soon as she got the package out she retracted her arm and shut the door.

The soft sound of footsteps resounded, as the crunch of the bag being picked up.

“Thanks for this, Lady. You’re truly a lifesaver,” her friend said, relief and gratefulness in his tone.

“It’s no problem, my friend,” Toriel couldn’t just ignore someone in need, especially someone she cared about.

That won’t be the first time that conversation ensued. Time and again her friend asked for food and Toriel would oblige, watching her storage space become emptier and emptier until things came to a head.

“I’m sorry my friend, but I simply have no more food to spare,” Toriel apologized. A harsh silence filled the corridor as her friend became silent. Several moments passed, and as Toriel opened her mouth to speak again she was interrupted.

“...Okay, I get it.” It didn’t sound okay but Toriel wasn’t about to argue.

“I’m sorry. If there was anything I could do, I would do,” again she apologized. Toriel felt terrible about it, but she had herself to feed.

After that they traded a few more jokes but their hearts weren’t in it. The air around was too somber.

Soon enough, Toriel said her goodbyes and once again ascended the stairs.

At the top, Toriel took a moment to stop and look around her empty home. It was lonely, living alone, with only the occasional company of the transient human children. There were other monsters in the ruins but it seems that they are all intimidated by her.

Toriel had never felt so lost. Monsters were suffering and there was nothing she could do about. Perhaps she should have fought harder for the throne. Perhaps she should have glued the door shut, permanently. Perhaps she should have been a better, more attentive mother.

Perhaps then her children would not be dead.


End file.
